Beyond These Prison Walls

Not only was yesterday the 1st Wednesday of the month but according to OPW it was also a freebie day. Yes, FREE! So the only thing a girl new to the world of being frugal could do is gather a posse of Canadian and Aussie misfits in order to make our way to Kilmainham Gaol. Why Kilmainham Gaol as our heritage site of choice? Well rumour has it that its suppose to be the like the Alcatraz of Ireland and really, who wouldn’t jump at a chance to spend an afternoon roaming around an abandoned prison.

Right off the bat, mistake #1 was made when we gave in and let the boys figure out how the hell we were going to get to the heritage site. Haphazardly, the 5 of us navigated Dublin streets as we found our way to the Luas and then walked what felt like another mile before we finally rounded the corner to spot the attraction at hand. In my humble opinion, it probably would have taken us the same amount of time to walk the entire way but who’s bitching right? Note to self: never let boys take charge of directions..EVER AGAIN!

As for Kilmainham Gaol itself, I wish I could tell you more about the tour and the stories that were shared but honestly, I was misbehaving like a school girl with a brand new camera so the finer details were all but lost on me. What I can say, however, is that on a rare sunny day in Dublin, the manner in which the light floods in gives this place a spectacular yet eery beauty that sends chills down your spine. This in itself is well worth the admission price but it there is so much more than just that. I don’t know if it was The Last Words or if it had something to do with the historical importance of it all but I couldn’t shake the feeling of how haunting it was.

What I will say is that while visiting Dublin, this is a must-do but not sure if I would have enjoyed its somber tone as much if it were cramped in somewhere between Dublin Castle and the Guinness Factory. History fan or not, this is not something that can be described as fun but does take the cake when it comes to fascinating. As for me and my merry bunch of misfits who ranged from the misbehaving school girl to the nerd waiting to ace the quiz at the end, we all took something different from the experience but were all in agreement that it was well worth it…free admission or not.